Writing
When Prince Vain got his shirt fixed, he proclaims that he had slain two lizards in front of the tailor's house - "two in one strike". When the tailor swats seven flies at once, he sows himself a banner saying "seven in one strike", and together with his bird he starts a journey into the world to pronounce his deed.
East Germany's contribution to the 1957 Cannes Film Festival was the wartime melodrama Betrogen bis zum Juengsten Tag. Had the film been released in the U.S., the title would probably have translated to Duped Till the Last. The film condemns the Nazi mindset by concentrating on a particularly odious cover-up. When his son is involved in the accidental killing of a girl, a Gestapo general pulls strings to save the boy from prosecution. The general manages to pin the blame for the killing on a group of Russians, whereupon he gives the men under his command carte blanche to round up and execute as many innocent Russians as they wish. This act of brutality is contrasted with the pangs of guilt suffered by the son and his co-conspirators.
This film is set in a medieval mill town in the Harz mountains. The greedy and brutal millman and his accomplices, the castle steward and the mayor, set fire to a forest mill that the farmers used for processing their grain. Without their mill, the farmers must now rely on the millman's services. When the farmhand Anna uncovers the millman’s crimes, he swiftly detains her and a young miller, Jörg. The forest spirits have a different plan, however, and they free the young couple with the charge to rebuild the ruined forest mill and turn things around for the villagers.
The two half-orphans Reni and Rolf are 13 and 10 years old and they live with their grandmother in Berlin. Their father has died during the war, their mother works at a Baltic Sea port. Here she meets a captain who wants to marry her. When their mother tells them about the planned wedding, Reni and Rolf are reluctant to meet the captain.
Günter has completed his electrical engineering degree and returns to Berlin. His old foreman and his wife welcome him and want to take a Sunday trip to Grünau, but he wants to visit a mechanical engineering exhibition that is only open that day. The old gentlemen accompany him to Stalinallee, and here something fateful happens: Günter meets the girl he has always fancied again ...
Herder Pagwa lives in a hut in a valley of beautiful flowers, where he hoards a mysterious chest whose secret is not revealed even to his three sons. The elder two believe that the chest is filled with gold and precious stones, so they break it open. From then on, water floods the valley, the earth withers and the people and animals start dying of thirst. The youngest son seeks out the wise Arat to ask for advice.
A young actress, dismissed as untalented by a famous and admired mime, takes revenge for the insult by playing so many roles for him in his house - from maid to abused wife and tender mother to vamp - that in the end he discovers not only her talent but also his love for her.
Despite the fact that production manager Kruse doesn't have the actors or the crew for the job, he recklessly boasts that he could direct a revue film. To prevent him losing face, Kruse brings together four people - a dramaturg, a composer, a writer and an architect - and gives them the thankless task of turning his idea into a film. Except for the relatively unknown composer Alexander Ritter, who is enthusiastically committed to the project, the other members of the team find themselves stuck in this mess.
A murder has been committed in "Pension Boulanka", a famous guesthouse for artists and circus people. Captain Bruckner is heading the investigating team.
A showgirl aspiring to greater things endeavours to sort out her financial and romantic problems.
During the unloading of the freighter "Florida", West German dock workers discover napalm bombs instead of the specified precision machines - and a deceptive maneuver by the American occupying forces: the workers had already refused to unload the ship in France, where it was named "Chicago". It was refloated on the voyage to Germany. The German dockers also went on strike. Among them was Hein Jensen, who found it particularly difficult to take part. He had just found work again with difficulty. He needs the money because he wants to get married. His bride Helga has just given birth. When the Americans try to blackmail him into changing his colleagues' minds, he knows where his place is. The strike turns into a huge peace demonstration.
At a GDR farm, VEAB chief Amann bans cabbage in favor of cauliflower, enraging LPG accountant Gritt. Mistaking visiting writer Hans Brauer for a high-level inspector, Amann backpedals, clearing the harvest issue, while Brauer and Gritt spark an unexpected romance.
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The bailiff Engel is believed to be an heir to the millions via a fictitious newspaper advertisement. It is said to have a mink farm. Your debtors mean my nun that as a millionaire you can pay the debts. Some dowry hunters have seen it on them too. Paulchen, who shows the ad, has in Ms. Engel and in the end she also has a couple.
Several children find out what's the matter with a wreck offshore, which puts them into jeopardy.
